Fabricated structure



April 16, 1935. w. DALTON FABRIGATED STRUCTURE Filed April 29, 193:;

Inventov William Dalton His Attorneg.

Patented Apr. 16, 1935 UNITED STATES PATIENT OFFICE FABRICATED STRUCTUREWilliam Dalton, Schenectady, n.1, allignor to General Electric Company,a corporation of New York Application image, 1933, saw No. 608.515

4Claims.

5 load supporting structure in which the tension members consist ofmembers having angularly disposed legs and the compression membersconsist of channels the unflanged surfaces of which form the loadsupporting surface of the structure.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved method ofassembling leg members and channel members into a fabricated structureof the character described above.

Further objects of my invention will become apparent from aconsideration of the construction illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, Fig. 1 of which illustrates one embodiment thereof as. appliedto floor construction, Fig. 2 of which illustrates a modificationthereof, and Fig. 3 of which illustrates another embodiment.

The fabricated structure illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises-a plurality ofchannel members l arranged alongside of one another with their flangesll extending toward and at right angles to the flanges l2 of T-bars I3the stems ll of which are inserted between the flanges of adjacentchannels and attached thereto by welds l5 and I6. Channel members andT-bars of the usual construction have been illustrated in the drawing.It is to be noted that the inside surfaces of the flanges of the channelmembers slope toward one another. The unflanged surfaces of the channelsl0 form the load supporting surface of the floor structure and theT-bars l3 form the base of the floor. Prior to welding, the channels andT-bars are preferably positioned relatively to one another to form agroove l1 between the channels which are then united to one another andthe T-bars inserted therebetween by weld metal deposited in this groove.It is not necessary to weld the members together along their entirelength since sufllcient strength can be obtained by welding at I5 overthe supports l8 upon which the floor rests and at the centers I 6 of thefloor spans determined by these points of support. The length of thewelds 15 will be determined by the shear strains developed in thestructure when it is used for its intended purpose.- The welds ii areprimarily employed for tying the parts together.

Prior to the welding operation it is desirable to provide some means forholding the parts in adjusted relationship relative to one another. Oneconvenient means for accomplishing this result is through the use ofclamps l9 attached to the T-bars l3. The clamp may be of any suitable(Cl. 189-34) type, but I prefer to use one having a surface adapted toengage the sloping sides of the chan nel flanges so that the channels bytheir own weight will securely wedge themselvesagainst thestems of theT-bars when their flanges are placed in the clamp. The clamps may bebolted to the T-bars 13, but I prefer to attach them thereto by awelding operation. In Fig. 1 the clamps have been attached to the stemsof the T-bars by a resistance welding operation, which 10 is preferablyperformed prior to the location of the T-bars in the construction ofwhich they are to form a part. The clamps l9 may be attached to thestems ll of the T-bars by are welds 20,

as illustrated in Fig. 2, in which case the 'operation may readily beperformed in the shop or in the field.

A structure fabricated in accordance with my invention is notnecessarily limited to the employment of T-bars since other membershaving angularly disposed legs may be used to perform the same functionsas the T-bars in the arrange ment described above. For example, asshownin Fig. 3. angles may be used. When angles are used in-place of T-barsone leg 22 of the angles 25 2| is inserted between the flanges I l ofthe channels II in the same manner that the stems or legs I4 of T-barsl3 are inserted between the flanges of channels In in the constructionabove described in connection with Fig. 1. It is also many sizes andweights. Furthermore, by employing the particular assemblycharacteristic of my invention a maximum strength and minimum deflectionper pound of material is obtained as compared with other types ofconstructions heretofore proposed. The fabricated structure has a smoothsurface to which linoleum, wooden blocks, or other surfacing materialsmay be added. Furthermore, if the surface of thechannel is suitablyroughened, the structure may be used without a covering in which case itwould be desirable to flll with asphalt or similar material the portionsof the groove I'I not filled with weld metal. The parts are assembled ina position which readily adapts them for both hand and automaticwelding. If the parts are to be assembled by 86 metallic arc welding,they are preferably arranged as above described and as illustrated inthe drawing. If, however, they are to be united by carbon arc welding orsimilar processes of welding making use of non-consumin'gelectrodes, theparts may be advantageously assembled in a manner to eliminate thegroove I! in which case a union of the parts may be obtained by fusingthe parts together without the addition of weld metal. I prefer,however, to secure the union of the parts through the addition of weldmetal as above de-v scribed. The T-bars may be rolled with channelsupporting projections thereon in which case it will not be necessary toapply clamps I! as de scribed above in connection with the particularembodiments illustrated in the drawing. Although my invention isparticularly suited for roof and floor construction, its use is notlimited thereto.

While I have shown and described two embodiments of my invention, it isto be understood that other embodiments thereof may be made withoutdeparting from my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates, is:

1. The method of assembling channels and members having angularlydisposed legs which comprises providing the opposite sides of one leg ofeach of said leg members with projections adapted to support saidchannels by engaging their flanges, supporting said leg members withtheir projection supporting legs turned upwardly,

supporting channels on said leg members with their flanges on saidprojections and uniting said channels and said leg members into anintegral structure by welding them together on the unfianged sides ofsaid channels.

2. The method of assembling channels and members having angularlydisposed legs which comprises providing the opposite sides of one leg ofeach leg member with clamps having surfaces adapted to wedge againstsaid leg members a channel flange supported therein, supporting said legmembers with their clamp supporting legs turned upwardly, supportingchannels on said leg members with their flanges in said clamps anduniting said channels and said leg members into an integral structure bywelding them togethe on the unflanged sides of said channels.

3. A fabricated structure comprising channel members and members havingangularly disposed legs the opposite sides of one leg of each of saidleg members being provided with projections adapted to support saidchannels by engaging their flanges when the projection supporting legsof said leg members are turned upwardly and said channels are supportedthereon with their flanges in engagement with said projections, the loadsupporting surface of said fabricated structure being formed by theunfianged surfaces of said channels arranged alongside of one anotherand separated from one another by the projection supporting legs of saidleg members to which said channels are integrally united by weld metalon the unflanged sides of said channels.

4. A fabricated structure comprising channel members having flangeswhose inside surfaces slope toward one another and members havingangularly disposed legs to the opposite sides of one leg of each ofwhich leg members are attached clamps whose inside surfaces are adaptedto wedge said channels against said leg members when the clampsupporting legs of said leg members are turned upwardly and saidchannels are supported thereon with their flanges in said clamps, theload supporting surface of said fabricated structure being formed by theunflanged surface of said channels arranged alongside of one another andseparated from one another by the clamp supporting legs of said legmembers to which said channels are integrally united by weld metal onthe unflanged sides of said channels.

WILLIAM DALTON.

